(updated)NOO... Wand out of fight, Chris Leben has agreed to step in.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

A Leben win over Akiyama is about as good as a win over Le, but I think more of Le than most else do.

No it isn't, not close really, you do think waaayyy to highly of Le, fancy kicks and pony tricks.

I wrote the bit in the first post update, not farmer, in case anyone wonders.

Cung Le is one of the best strikers in the MW division if you ask me LA. I really like him as a fighter. If he were five years younger he'd be a force.

He'd get beaten by more well-rded fighters, not sure he can take punishment either

Chris Leben vs. Akiyama sounds pretty entertaining but yes, disappointment.

Didn't I read somewhere yesterday that Leben said he was in no hurry to fight again? Wow, a serious change of heart... Must be some serious $$$ in it for him to take this fight on such short notice.

I don't see why you keep saying that considering he is a striker who wins all his k1, sanshou and mma fights with striking and in over 20 years has been stopped only once, by one of the most heavy handed fighters in the division.

Ya LTFG. I imagine they offered him a larger than normal purse. Leben is also a smart guy, and knows that if he beats Aaron Simpson and Yoshihiro Akiyama back to back he goes from on the possible cut list to...gasp...possible contender status like he was coming into his unfortunate bout with Spider.

How u think this fight goes down Wolf, I think Leben can beat Akiyama just on his heart

Akiyama has shown a lot of heart too. I think it will boil down to a slugfest where Akiyama has the edge with athleticism.

I had Sexyama to begin with. I'll stick with him

Wand would have murdered him but this fight is quite different.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Wand would have murdered him but this fight is quite different.

change your tone much? I guess the Sexiyama thing was last month's fad.

Not really. I gave Akiyama a great chance but I always said Wanderlei would win, but it would be competitive, but Wand would win with a KO. When the Axe Murderer KO's you, that's murder.

Fuckery!

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Not really. I gave Akiyama a great chance but I always said Wanderlei would win, but it would be competitive, but Wand would win with a KO. When the Axe Murderer KO's you, that's murder.

Japan is still years away. People will say Wanderlei will steamroll Sexiyama, but honestly Yoshihiro has all the tools needed to beat Wanderlei - heavy hands, speed, athleticism, durability, and good counters in slugfests.

Wand has been rocked and knocked down by Japanese fighters his whole career who hit half as hard and are twice as slow as Akiyama. Akiyama has a lot of power in his shots and has been fighting dudes bigger than him his whole career. If there really is a decline to Wand's durability, a hard combination from Yoshihiro could easily knock him out.

While you don't flat out pick Akiyama... It sounds like your opinion has changed.

I waffle more than Egos. I still believe that original post, but Wand would have been my pick. Maybe I should have said something different besides murder. Anyway this fight is a lot more favorable for Akiyama short term, but I am sure he'd rather be an underdog against Silva with the chance to become a hero back home than fight someone who is a relative journeyman in the grand scheme.


This has makings of fight of the night though.

Nice work Farm

I wonder how much digging he did to find that. Anyway change murder to ko and there isn't a big deal.

This fight still happens eventually barring a Leben KO, and it's still a fight that interests me due to Akiyama's chances to win, even if I think a brutal KO eventually awaits him.

Maybe a little, but I remember you talking like that aswell, saying how Akiyama was the best fighter out of Japan and shit.

Disappointing but Leban is a decent replacement.

I still think he is. Zombie would be good if he wasn't so reckless. I would bet 100$ that a WEC weight class gets a Japanese champion within two years.

Glad you like the Zombie, I liked him before the Garcia fight (Screwed in that) but after I loved him, I hope they do a rematch or give him a winnable fight to get him back on track.

tolivendiewithLA wrote:

Wolfgangsta wrote:

A Leben win over Akiyama is about as good as a win over Le, but I think more of Le than most else do.

No it isn't, not close really, you do think waaayyy to highly of Le, fancy kicks and pony tricks.

Cung would kill Sexyama LA! Cung was gassed and had ring rust and still dominated Smith before getting caught. You guys amaze me with the lack of respect for him. Watch him before entering MMA and tell me the guy is weak when he was KguysTFO with Boxing gloves on and tossing them like ragdolls. Cung is the real deal and the movie thing hurt him.

what wolf said.

Let me say again, Wolf is a major bandwagoner. He will deny it but there is much evidence of this.

About the fight, I love it. The UFC won't cut Leben so I don't think that was a concern, but if he beats Akiyama he's back in the mix at 185. This should be a fun fight. I'll take the Crippler.